Cloning and characterisation of the rabbit 5‐HT1Dα and 5‐HT1Dβ receptors

The genes encoding the rabbit 5HT1D alpha and 5HT1D beta receptors have been cloned. The deduced amino acid sequence of these receptors shows 91-92% amino acid sequence identity with their human homologues, and similar high sequence identity with homologues from other species. The receptors were transiently expressed in COS-7 cells and exhibit a pharmacological profile closely resembling their human homologues, including a higher affinity of ketanserin for the 5-HT1D alpha subtype. However, sumatriptan had a lower affinity for both the rabbit receptors compared to their human counterparts. This may be accounted for by differences between the primary amino acid sequences of these species homologues.